Again, the Bible Is Not Used In House of Representatives Swearing In Ceremony For the second time in as many days, the Town Talk published a letter from a concerned citizen upset at the allegations fabricated and perpetuated by conservative talk radio host Dennis Prager that a new member of the House of Representatives will be placing his hand on the Koran in his swearing-in ceremony instead of the Bible. Readers should be aware that this story is a complete and total lie. The swearing-in ceremony, according to the Office of the House Clerk, consists of members "raising their right hands and swearing to uphold the Constitution." The Bible is not a feature of the ceremony. I find the story interesting for a number of reasons. First, the fact that someone can just INVENT a story, pitting a Muslim against alleged Christian "tradition," is alarming, but what's more appalling is the way the mainstream media, including our very own Gannett paper, has perpetuated this story without a single retraction or correction of the record or the basic facts. Here's an excerpt of today's letter, written by Peter Gunn of Bentley:

It is a sad state of affairs when this great nation of ours, which is only 230 years old is trying to remove the Bible from all swearing in of elected officials. May God show mercy on our souls.

I'm not sure where on earth Mr. Gunn read that America was trying to remove the Bible from "all swearing in" ceremonies. Perhaps this is just more hyperbole perpetuated by those radio talk show hosts. And from yesterday's letter, by Ruth Barden of Boyce:

Keith Ellison, D-Minn., Reporter, has written: "The first Muslim elected to the U.S. Congress, has announced that he will not take his oath of office on the Bible, but on the bible of Islam, the Koran."

To Mrs. Barden (and the Town Talk), Keith Ellison is the Muslim representative, not the reporter.

This entry was posted by Blogger, on Tuesday, December 12, 2006.